Boll-weevil machine.



T. LUCAS.

BOLL WEEVIL MACHINE.

APPLICATION rum) APR. 25, 19114 Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

4 BHEETFSHEET l.

T. LUCAI.

BULL WijEVlL MACHINE.

mmmumn FILED 111 11.25 191.1

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

4 SHEETSSHEET Z.

T. LUCAS.

BOLL WEBVIL MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR, 25, 1911.

Patented Dec.3,1912.

4 SHEET8-SHEET 3.

ill/61525;?

T. LUCAS BOLL WEEVIL MACHINE. APPLICATION-FILED APR. 25, 1911.

1,046,206 Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

THOMAS LUCAS, OF'GREENWOOD, MISSISSIPPI.

sonL-wnnvm MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 15%12.

Application filed April 25, 1811. Serial No. 623,188.

7 '0 all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS LUCAS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Greenwood, in.- the county of- Letlore and 5 State ofMississip 1 have invented a cerl-fl Boll Weevil Machineor the Like,of.;, which the following is at tain new and use u specification. a c

This invention'relates to a new and useful machine intended particularlyfor clearing the groundof small twigs and pieces of wood and the like,particularly in cotton fields, where such pieces of wood become breedingplaces for insect pests, such as boll-yv'ecvils.

. It; is. intendedparticularly to provide a machine which may be drawnor propelled I .througha. field of cotton between the, rows of bushesthereof to pick up all of thevtwigs,

etc.;-. in the rows (and up close to the bushes, so that the twigs, etcmaybe carried away and. binned,- or otherwise destroyed, thus also{destroying "the insects,- There are" a large number of insect pestswhich deposit debris froma field, but'by far the greatest percentage ofthe insects are found on small twigs and the like, which cannot beconveniently raked together, or picked up by hand, and, therefore, it isextremely difiicult to rid the field of this large percentage of thepest.

It is the main object of this invention to provide a machine ofsuitableconstruction and principle of operation for gathering up all such debrisand particularly thejsmallj pieces there of, .and collecting -the.'same, I so that it may beflcarried away from theffield.

Other-objects of the invention are to 'provide a :machine of suchconstruction nthat a comparatively largei-widthof field may; becleancdat one time, as, for example, the i cntirestripofground betweentwo rows of.

cotton bushes; to provide a machine of such construction that the groundwill be considerably agitated just before the suction ,portion of themechanism passes over it,

thus insuring that the small twigs will be properly loosened up, so thatthey will be drawn up into the machine; to provide a machine of simpleconstruction and opcration, and one which may be easily mounted on acomparatively small truck; to so form the truck that the branches ofcotton, or

similar bushes, will not be injured by the passage of the machine; toprovide a suctlon member, which will ride easily over comparativelyuneven ground, while, at the same time, always maintaining acomparatively close contact therewith; to provide a machine of suchconstruction that the dcbris receptacle may be easily removed from the.same, when it becomes filled; and in 1 other ways and manners to providea machine of this character, which shall meet all of the foregoing aswell as other conditions and requirements.

11. Other objects and uses will appear from ,a detailed description ofthe invention, which consists in the features of construction and 'c ombination of parts hereinafter described {and claimed.

. Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a longitudinal sectionof the mecharnisrnjjFig. 2 shows a plan view of the mechanism with amodified form of fan; Fig. 3 shows across section of the mecha- 'nismtaken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, lookingin the direct-ion of the arrows;Fig. 4 shows a front view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 showsa bottom view of the suction member, and Figs. (3 and 7 show aconstruction, in which two fans in series are used for creating theblast of air, the first fan sucking the debris from the ground anddelivering it to the receptacle, while the second fan creates the blastof air against the ground, Fig. 6 being taken on the line 6(3 of Fig. 7looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the embodiment of my invention, I

provide a truck of suitable shape and size according to the class ofwork to be performed. The width of the truck should be such that it maymove along easily between therows of plants without damaging the same.()n this truck, I mount asuitable suction member, and provide means forcreating a continuous suction in the same, the suction member beingcarried down close to theground, so that the twigs, etc., will bereadily drawn up. The most convenient device for creatingthe suction isa mechan really-driven blower. I provide a diverting member, orthe'like,across the exhaust 'from said'blower, and suitably connect a debrisreceptacle to the blower, so that the the point of suction. The exhaustthus serves. toflloosen up the surface of the ground, 50 that all of-thedebris. will be easily drawn up in the suction member.

' The arrangement is one which virtually provides a closedcircuitjsystem, although it will,yof cdurse, be understood that it isnot necessary direct theexhaust down against the ground.

lteferring pow to the drawings, the bed of the truck comprisesa' pair.of' longitudinal sillsG- and 7,'whichcarr a flooring '8. The rearportion of the true is mounted on an axle 9, which-carries the wheels10, and 11,

while'the} forward portion of the truck is provided with a steeringwheel 12. The latter-maybe manipulated in any suitable way,.as by meansof a hand wheel 13.' The truckinaybe drawn along the ground in any (1'sued, the arrangement shown being intended foranimalpropulsion throughthe medium; of a swingletreel t, A blower 15- is mounted on the trucknear the center of thesame, a gasolene engine 16 driving the pulle'y 17of the blower through the medium of a belt 18. By mounting the enginedirectly over the rear axle, it may be'solidly supported without the'necessity of making the truck unduly large and heavy-1 The suctionopeningof the blower in connected. to a pipe 19, which;extnds downthroughxthe truck, a nd has its'lower portion 20 widenedout and bentover, so as to occupy a position directly beneath the central line ofthe truck. At the same time,

this suction pipe is contracted from its front to its rear at the point21, as well shown in Fig. 1. The forward portlon 22 of the lower end ofthe suction pipe extends down fairly close to the ground, so that thespace 23 left between said lower end and the ground shall be just aboutlarge enough to allow the largest twigs and debris to pass beneath it.The rear side 24 of thelower portion of the suction pipe is hinged at25,

i so that it may swing rearwardly, when 00' thus it comprises virtuallya swing back .and forth. shown 3 normally casion arises; flap which maySprings 26, well hold this flap in. forward position. The lower end 27of the fla extends down almost to the ground, but, 0 course, it mayswing back to pass over obstructions, and to clear uneven portions ofthe ground.

The exhaust pipe 28. extends straight down, and has. its lower portion29.also widened out to a width substantially equal to that of the lowerportion 20 of the suction pipe. However, a screen 30 is placed acrossthe upper end of the exhaust pipe, so that particles of debris which aredrawn up in the'suction and thrown out by centrifugal force from the fan31 will be caught andprojected downwardly through. a pipe '32, into adebris receptacle 33. In the construction shown, the latter comprises abag the upper portion 34 of which is reinforce by a collar 35 which maybe attached to the lower portion of thepipe 32, so that the bag may beeasily removed come filled with the debris. It will be noted that thescreen 'is rounded over and .down from its rear portion 36 to itsforward portion 37. By rounding it over in this' manner, the debris willbe caught and throwii forwardly into the mouth 38, of the pipe 32, thuslargely preventing the debris from being caught on the corner 39 of theblower,

and simply whirled around and around, in-

after it has bestead of being carried down through the pipe32.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 4, thelower portion '40. of the exhaustpipe is contracted from front to rear. This will insure a strong blowingaction at the point where-the exhaust is delivered against the ground;It is intended that this exhaust shal thoroughly agitate the entiresurface of .the ground in advance of the arrival 'ofthe suction portion,,and for this reason the parts should be so arranged. to provide astrong draft at the point where the exhaust strikes the ground' Thelower end, 4,1 of

the front portion of the exhaust pi'e .rnay be hinged at 42 toprovide aflap, which may swing rearwardly to pass obstructions, springs 43holding tion. The upper portion 44 of member connects directly with therear side of the exhaust pipe. is provided with telescopic sides 45,which are connected to the upper port-ion 44, and to the flaps 24 and41, so that the suction member is well closed in,

from heavy canvas, or any other suitable material.

As is well shown in Figs.- 3 and 4, the lower portion of the suctionmember 15 widened out to cover a strip of ground this fiapin normalposithe suction while, at tlie'same. time, permitting sufiicientmovement offtheflaps. These telescopic sides 45 may be made 116 Thesuction member J almost equal in width to that of the entire truck. Itwill be understod of the strip of ground'to be cleaned may be" that thewidth Of course the clear space between the plants. on, the two sides oftherow depends uponthe over-hanging of their branches.

pushingback the branches in the proper manner; the truck may be passedthrough anrl'alo'ng a path which is apparently narrower than the truckitself. In the present instance, I provide means for pushing back theover-hanging" branches to permit tine-"truck to pass through withoutinjuring their branches. The means illustrated comprises a number ofrods, or wires, 46, suitablv supported along each side of the truck, andhaving their rear portious47 lying in a substantially vertical. planeand substantially parallel to each other. In their forward portions 48,all of the wires are curved inry'ardly, the lower wires 49 being curvedin not so rapidly .as the upper wires 50, so that .the wires assume aposition, such as illustrated in Fig. 4. Where the observer is lookingat the front of the truck. In order to properly support the wires, anumber of brackets 51 may be provided, each bracket, being set inwardlysome distance from the plane of the wires, and the Wires being securedto the brackets by means of arms 52. By this construction, a space 53 isprovided, so that the branches may slide roarwardly past the bracketsWithout touching the same. M

It is a general .rule that, the middle branches of a bush extend outfarther than those in its upper portion. For this reason, the lowerWires are carried out farther in their forward portions than are theupper wires. As the truck passe-s along between two rows of plants, theover-hanging branches will rise up "and slide inbetween and on thewires, and will be bent upwardly by them a sulficient distance to allowthe truck to pass tl'irough without injuring them. In this manner, thedevice is enabled to pick up the debris much more completely andthoroughly than would be the case if the width of the truck were limitedto an 'amount equal to the narrow .iistanct between the overhangingbranches of the rows of plants. 7

In Figs. 6 and.7, I show in detail the double em construction shown inFig. 1.

In this case, a primary blower 5i and a secondaryblower 55 are provided,both of them being driven by means of a common ulley .56. The suctionpipe 9 enters the niu'iary blo'wer which delivers its air through aconnection 57 to the secondary blower, the latter delivering its exhaustthrough the pipe 28. A screen 30 is placed across the discharge from the1 primary blower so as to intercept particles of debris and deliver themintoa receptacle" as -in the previous construction; Advantages of thistwin blower-construction are that a very compact arrangement of parts ispossible, and that the exhaust air which 15 delivered down onto theground in advance of the suction member does not come directly throughthe screen '30, but is deliver-ed from a separate and distinct fan. Ofcourse, the screen and associated piping of the single blower will tendsomewhat to retard the exhaust, whereas in't-he present case the exhaustair comes directly from the secondary blower and is not 'impededby thescreen. I i I 'In' thesingle fan arrangenient," the fair is sucked fromthe suction member into the single fan, and is delivered from the 's amedirectly to'the ground in advance of'the suctioi'rmember, so that inthis case 'the'single fan servesthe double function ofisucking up theparticles of debris from the ground and of agitating the groundin,advance of the suction memberl I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a truck ofa suction member depending therefrom and having its suc tion opening adjacent to the ground, a centrifugal fan on the truck. having a centralsuetion intake and a peripheral exhaust opening, means for rotating thefan, a connection from the suction member to the intake, a connectionfrom the exhaust opening to the ground at a point in advance of thesuction member, a debris receptacle, a connection from the exhaustopening of the fan to the same, and a deflector extending across theperipheral exhaust opening to intercept particles of dept-is from theexhausting air and to deliver t 1e same into the debris receptacle,substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a truck ofa suction memher. and agitator suitably mounted thereon, and comprisinga suction opening having its forward edge extending down close to theground to leave a sufiicient clearance for the passage of debris andhaving its rear porti on in the form of a flap suitably hinged to permitthe same to swing backwurdly for passage over rough portions of ground,and an exhaust opening having its forward por tion in the form of a flapsuitably hinged to permit the same to swing haclrwardly for passage overparticles of debris and over rough ground, a closure, extending betweenthe upper portion of the exhaust opening and the upper portion of thesuction ppening, and a telesropic connection suitably attached. to theclosure and to each side of each flap, and extending-down close to theground 'to completely inclose the space between the' exhaust opening andthe suction member, substantially as described.

3. In a machineof the class described, the combination with a truck of asuct-ionvmemher and agitator suitably mounted thereon, and comprising asuction opeliingharing its forward edge extending down close to theground to leave a sufiicient clearance for the'passage of debris, andhaving its rear portion in the'form of a flap suitably hinged to permitthe same to swing backwardly for passage over rough'portions of ground,and an exhaust opening having its forward portion in the form of a flapsuitably hinged to permit the same to swing backwardly for passage overparticles of debris and over rough, ground, a closure extending betweenthe upper portion of the exhaust opening and the upperportion of thesuction opening, a telescopic connection suitably attached to theclosure and to each side of each 'flap, and extending down close to theground to completely inclose the space between the exhaust. opening andthe suction member,

and means for continually withdrawing air from the suction opening, andmeans for continually exhausting air through the exhaust opening,substantially as described.

4. 'In a boll-weevil machine, the combination of a carrier, a pair ofcentrifugal fans mounted on the same. a SIKUOII member tion from thedischarge oi"? the first fan to the intake of the second fan, atangentially extending debris deflector across the discharge of thefirst fan, and a connection from the discharge of the first fan inadVance of such deflector to the debris receptacle, substantially asdescribed.

5.. In a machine of the class described, the.

combination of a carrier, a suction member supported by the same, meansfor creating a suction of a11- thereiu. and a plurality of and anexhaustmember supported by the longitudinally extending deflector rodson each side of the carrier, having their rear portions lying" in asubstantially verticalplane, and having their forward portions inwardly.curved, the upper rods being:

curved inwardly a greater amount than the lower rods, substantially as(lest-tilted.

THOMAS I UCAS. \Vitnesses:

J. R. TmnALL, \V.- G. LOGGINS, P. V. Persons

